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Friends and readers. It seems our newest friend and already under pressure Councillor Day, told some people at the City Chambers on the day of his maiden speech that he did not work for the North Edinburgh Trust.

We would like to remind our newest friend and sucks reader Cammy that he does indeed work for the Trust as a youth development worker,information that is easily and readily available.

It seems friend Cammy just forgot in the heat of the moment must have been the same heat of the moment when he told everybody that he did not know his brother was a member of the BNP or lived at the same address as him without declaring it.

We are happy to remind Councillor Day.  

Friends and readers. All this week Radio 4 has been running it’s Anti workplace bullying offensive,culminating with an interview with Lyn Witheridge herself a victim of an office bully,and founder of the Andrea Adams Trust,which campaigns to raise awareness of this issue.

Lyn spoke with passion and clarity on this terrible disease which causes so much damage in the workplace.

15 years ago Lyn proved her case in court,but not before being put through the mill by her employers. She cited examples such as persistent criticism, being a target,frightened to go into work,set up to fail,her ability called into question,and finally sinking into desperation and depression.

If this sounds familiar then it should as this is what happened in that infamous centre in Muirhouse where a bully and his assistant abused several members of staff and the cover up that followed to protect all involved in this travesty.

We now know that the experiences Lyn suffered at the hands of a bully paralleled what happened to the victims of Muirhouse. We know that the bullys assistant had an anger management problem and eye witnesses have told us that at least two members of staff were threatened by him and and although his line manager knew of this took no action as it suited him to do so.

George our associate who has taken a keen interest in this case and has tried to follow it since the story broke some time ago has dug deep and spoken to a number of people who confirm that bullying was a daily occurrence and senior management had been aware of a problem at this centre,but declined to take any action preferring to shy away from a potential time bomb.

George has turned up some startling  revelations,none more so than the bully’s assistant being associated with the gang known as the Hibernian Football club casuals.

This in itself warranted investigation given his authority over staff and vulnerable service users,this would explain the eye witness reports of aggression towards staff. 

George also, while travelling in and around the Community found other pieces of the bullying jigsaw that firmly places the bully and his assistant in the frame for targeting staff with a view to making their working lives as difficult as possible.

Our friend from New Zealand Paul told Pilton Sucks through George  of flawed behaviour towards him forcing him to leave,and the report of this behaviour which he made to the Union.

Unqualified in Criminal Justice the bully’s assistant was a fish out of water,using confrontation as his way of dealing with the smallest of issues.This of course as we now know suited his line manager who we are told egged him on pushing his limited ability to the limit which of course resulted in explosions of anger.

Another member of staff who was at Muirhouse for a short time told George of how he was new to this type of job,but was involved in his first couple of days in a confrontation with the bullys assistant, who threatened him with physical aggression.

Why was this tolerated? Why was no action taken when physical violence towards staff was threatened? Why was reports from eye witnesses to bullying ignored.

All this and more paralleled what happened to Lyn Witheridge,and 15 years ago she proved her case in court,with the bench saying that this was the worst case of bullying he had ever come across.

If that’s the case we wonder what the bench would say about what happened in that infamous centre in Muirhouse.      

Friends and readers. We were this evening going to bring you all the latest news and results from the Fairer Scotland Funding meeting which was held on Monday 17-11-08,but we have held off because of the latest shocking news that has reached Pilton Sucks.

Friends and readers As you may be aware  person or persons unknown released the membership details of the BNP on to the internet and Pilton Sucks along with sister site Edinburgh Sucks has got the details of members one of whom will Rock the Forth ward and North Edinburgh in general to the soles of their shoes.

Pilton Sucks can reveal that Mr. Colin Day brother of newly elected Labour Councillor Cammy Day is a member of the BNP and lists his address as 35 Easter Drylaw Gardens Edinburgh EH4 2RL. This friends and readers is also the home of the ambitious Cammy Day.

It would appear Mr. Day is already denying knowledge of his brothers activities,and it also appears that his brother is not listed as living at this address,we do hope this is not a council tax dodge.

Mr Days denials and protests of I knew nothing will be laughed at and his political career could well be over before it starts.

It is to incredible to believe that Mr. Day knew nothing of activities that were taking place right under his nose,and we certainly don’t believe that. The odious politics of the BNP are at best sick and we wonder how Mr. Day could allow such disgusting politics to surround him.

We already know that the meeting which selected Mr. Day was surrounded in controversy, a selection meeting which also had NEN reporter and self confessed saviour of the community Dave Pickering as a candidate,who now also if you care to read his blog agrees that the selection meeting was deeply flawed,or is that just sour grapes Dave cos you got stuffed.

Mr Day should do the honourable thing and resign immediately for not revealing this information. Mr Day takes his seat at his first council meeting tomorrow,we advise him to resign before the meeting and save the embarrassment to his party and the Community that voted for him.

He has let them down badly and must go and go quickly.  

Friends and readers. We have received more information regarding Frank the chancer Phelen and his running of the secure units at Howdenhall.

Our inside source tells us that Frank the chancer Phelen gave convicted sex offender Kevin Glancy permission to take a camcorder into one of the units when he worked there, to film the kids.

We wonder how Mr. Phelen can justify that little exercise. We are also told that Phelen and Glancy were very pally with Phelen refering to Glancy as My Kevin.

The plot starts to thicken as the other piece of the jigsaw former RCO [residential care officer] and now private hire car driver Gordon Collins who also worked at these units.

Was Mr. Collins sacked or asked to go and who tipped him off that the police were being called in.

Mr. Glancy who is now sharing a cell with another sex offender Tom Skinner,have a common link with Gordon Collins,but our source has asked us to refrain from mentioning it at this time although Pilton Sucks is aware of the link and it is a strong one. 

Phelen has some serious questions to answer. why did he give permission for Glancy to bring a camcorder into the unit,and how close was the relationship between Phelen and Glancy and of course Collins.

Our inside source also questions what happened to the films that were taken at the unit and who has them.

We are told that staff are still being threatened with disciplinary action if they speak outside about any incident that has taken place within the units,but we are told that fear is turning to anger as staff become intent on the facts getting out.        

Friends and readers. Some time ago we brought you the story of bullying and harassment within the ambulance service.

Well today we can tell you that the two bullys responsible Kevin Doran and Grace Kennedy have resigned from their posts.

An independent investigation was launched in May this year which reached the Scottish executive,and Health Secretary and Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed to MSP’s that the investigation finished on September 17th,but she declined to say anything about the results.

Well we all know what that means,both Doran and Kennedy were guilty of bullying and harassment and had to go.

The union involved Unite had welcomed the decision to launch an investigation saying that they believed management practices had resulted in a culture of bullying ‘TO THE DETRIMENT OF STAFF MORAL’.

If that sounds familiar then it should given the same practices were operated at the Muirhouse Social Work Centre,yet no independent investigation took place over the allegations of bullying and harassment that were made by several members of staff.

What did take place was a cover up even though several members of staff made the same allegations over a lengthy period of time.

We know from our own investigations that the two employees who consistently bullied and harassed staff were given departmental protection even though it was known for some time that bullying was taking place at this centre.

A source close to Unison told Pilton sucks that they received information that bullying was taking place at this centre some two years before it became a serious of formal complaints.

We are told that senior management were informally told that staff were being bullied at this centre and it had to stop.

We know now it didn’t and when some staff members came forward to formalise their complaints,some senior managers ran for cover to protect their own backsides.

Pilton Sucks has been told by a senior source that evidence does exist to prove bullying at this centre was a daily occurrence, and that senior management panicked when it surfaced.

This resulted in a senior manager John Mules who we are told was one of the investigators,having a change of heart and deciding to tell the truth about what he knew.

We understand a conversation took place were Mr. Mules who at first denied bullying at Muirhouse existed,changed his mind and admitted that bullying had taken place and action would have to be taken.

As we know now talk is cheap and Mules was ignored because it suited the powers that be. Pilton Sucks has learned since then that another manager close to this situation is very uncomfortable about what he describes as the tissue of lies that protected the bully and his then assistant.

If the Ambulance service can be independently investigated and the results reach the highest levels of Government then Criminal Justice particularly in this infamous centre in Muirhouse,can receive the same treatment as well.

It is now becoming more and more clearer that workplace bullying has to stamped on and the bully’s punished. Pilton Sucks is campaigning for a law to outlaw workplace bullying and make it a crime punishable in the courts of this country.

We all know bully’s are cowards by nature and this kind of law would help to flush them out. Employers have a duty of care to their staff,that duty was badly neglected in Muirhouse and it resulted in members of staff suffering at the hands of a couple of mindless jobsworths.

There can be no hiding place for those that would make employees life’s a misery and cause untold damage just to satisfy some hideous desire to cause as much pain as possible.

They cannot deny it bully’s know full well what they are doing but try to hide behind whatever they can in order to justify their behaviour.

Pilton Sucks once again demands a full independent investigation into what happened at this centre,and there are a number of people some who haven’t spoken out yet who know that bullying went on that may yet come out of the wood work to tell their story.   

Friends and readers. We have info hot from our reliable source at the very leaky Waverley Court.

Our informant tells us that a former employee or RCO[residential care officer] Gordon Collins now driving a private hire car and who was transferred from another unit to the secure unit of St Katherine’s, had behaved inappropriately both physically and verbally to a female resident,something our informant tells us that Former Principle Frank the chancer Phelen knew all about but did nothing.

It appears this female resident kept a diary of these events which was confiscated by a person in the unit and handed to Phelen.

Our informant tells us that Phelen buried the evidence because Collins was his mate.Pilton Sucks asks what the hell is going on at these units?The taxpayer who funds these secure units which are there to protect vulnerable young people have a right to expect that staff behave properly and not like Mr. Collins who thought himself above the law.

Where the police brought in? If so what happened?Pilton Sucks thinks that no police involvement took place and if it did they certainly never got the diary thanks to chancer Phelen.

Mr. Collins is now as we have said driving a private hire car,is this appropriate employment for this character,we think not. What action will the department responsible take? They seem to have already taken action by promoting that total ass hole Frank the chancer Phelen.

While we are at it we would like to ask Mr. Phelen a question,how is his other mate Mr. Glancy. now serving 18 months at her majesty’s pleasure for having pornographic material of a nasty nature on a computer.

Was it a council computer and did Phelen know about that as well. It’s time Frank the chancer Phelen got kicked out the door instead of being wrapped up in cotton wool at the leaky Waverley Court.     

Friends and readers. While we were covering the by-election campaign,don’t think for a minute we had forgotten about the continuing scandal surrounding the infamous Muirhouse Social Work Centre.

Quite the opposite our source at the leaky Waverley Court tells us that there is an embarrassing amount of evidence to deal with ,about what went on at this centre and the thug at the centre of it. And we do not forget about his former assistant who is just as guilty as he hides away in Dalkeith.

Our source tells us that acting manager and protector of the bully Harry Robertson has his back to the wall after lying to protect not only himself but now retired Don Millar and his no-necked pal in Muirhouse.

Senior manager John Mules wanted to get it all out in the open after admitting he had lied about bullying and had a change of heart now telling anyone that will listen that bullying did indeed take place at Muirhouse and action had to be taken.

You won’t get action from Robertson he is to busy looking after his own ass,but for how much longer can they deny what everyone else knows that members of staff were subjected to abuse at the Centre in Muirhouse.

Separating these two half wits is not going to solve  the problems they created or the lives they tried so hard to ruin. They are just a couple of useless jobsworths who got away with it because they could.

Pilton sucks has contacted the City and offered our dossier which includes the names of those who tried to cover up this scandal and the victims who were abused.

Pilton Sucks now has a clear understanding of what went on at this centre over a long period of time and we have contacted all the various agencies including legal agencies to find out the facts on the laws regarding workplace bullying.

We now more than ever speak from the position of having a stronger grasp of the facts both from the abuse that the victims suffered and the laws that should be used against this department and the two perpetrators of these vicious acts against other employees.

Pilton sucks believes strongly that the two main characters in this scandalous abuse should be charged and made to answer for their crimes and not allowed to hide behind a tissue of lies and anybody they can find to protect them.

The law may indeed have it’s day against this department but the two jobsworths that caused the pain and suffering to other members of staff must be brought to justice as well.

Should this ever reach a court of law and we sincerely hope it does then these two along with those that neglected their duty of care and sought to protect the bullys as much as they could should be made to answer for their crimes.

If the City can’t deal or won’t deal with workplace bullys then the law may well do and Pilton sucks will offer any assistance it can.

Remember don’t let the workplace bully off the hook,don’t make the mistake of allowing him to escape. Report workplace bullying immediately and make sure action is taken. If no action is taken inform your union and the police that you are being threatened and bullied.

It’s a pity this seemed not to have happened in the centre in Muirhouse which allowed the bullys to carry on and ply their spiteful trade.   

Friends and readers. We have received information from our well placed source regarding an incident at the secure unit of St Katherine’s.

It seems our old pal Frank the chancer Phelen and his buddy con-man McClusky have together conspired to cover up a violent incident which took place at this secure unit.

What makes it worse according to our source is that it was an assault on a resident which both chancer Phelen and con-man McClusky covered up.

This violent incident was carried out by a worker seconded from another unit whose name has been kept hidden by chancer Phelen and con-man McClusky.

To make sure no-one talks about this incident con-man McClusky has been bullying staff relentlessly under the watchful eye of chancer Phelen. Our source tells us that both Frank Phelen and his ass licker Peter McClusky are extremely worried that news of this violent incident will leak out. To late lads it has and both chancer Phelen and con-man McClusky must be called to account for their behaviour.

Our reliable source told us that staff at this unit are under siege with changes in job patterns at a moments notice,surely Unison would like to know about this state of affairs.

Con-man McClusky is just another jobsworth who given a little rank runs wild with power and abuses staff,maybe he’s pals with that thug who plys his trade in the Muirhouse office.

Friends and readers. The recent comment by Councillor Elaine Morris that one or two local projects received more favour than other is correct and is to applauded.

Ms. Morris has stuck her head above the parapet and Pilton Sucks supports her. There was always a nasty smell about how certain projects received as much funding as they did and Ms. Morris is spot on in saying this.

As local projects are in the process in making representation to the Fairer Scotland Funding panel it would be unfair to name these projects but most people know who they are.

Local projects are funded to provide a service to the community not build empires on the back of public funding,and Ms. Morris is only to aware of that as are most of her colleagues.

The recently elected Cammy Day was out and about in the community making noises about fighting the potential cuts to local projects,a very noble sentiment but he should keep in mind that many in the community feel angry at the favoured way one or two projects were treated.

It would appear Ms. Morris has her finger on the pulse and is refusing to be bullied into something different. More power to her elbow as she fights the dying embers of the Labour party cabal.

These projects were not set up to fund jobs for-labour party members or supporters but over the years this has happened,and like many others Ms. Morris is rightly determined to end this old pals act. Forth has some good projects delivering quality services,they are not funded to support political parties or individuals,nor are we in the business of sponsoring a local Labour party newspaper.

So carry on the good work Ms. Morris and don’t be bullied into something you don’t believe in. You have the support of many in the community and of course all us at Pilton Sucks.     

Friends and readers. Second favourite in the Pilton Sucks sporting odds Cammy Day representing the Labour Party was duly elected to serve as member for the Forth Ward until he does a runner at the next general election.

With a 172 vote majority over SNP candidate George Gordon Mr. Day now has to back up his words with action.In third place as predicted by Pilton Sucks a bold showing by Conservative candidate Iain McGill proving once again that there are still those out there that actually trust a Tory,wonders will never cease. The Lib Dem candidate Ms. Downie who ran a totally negative campaign based on fear got what she deserved, a thumping,and hopefully will learn the lesson of not trying to use a single issue campaign such as crime to frighten the voters. They need to take a long hard look at how they run a campaign and learn from their disasterous display in this by-election.

Congratulations to Mr. Day but weather he can win the trust of the whole community or if he even cares is another matter. Mr. Day is a young ambitious politician and sees the Forth Ward as just a stepping stone to help him secure victory in the Edinburgh West constituency come the General Election.

We can offer no advice to Mr. Day other than to forget trying to bring back the old Labour cabal which so mis-used this community for their own benefit. 

Pilton Sucks and this community will no doubt give Mr. Day an opportunity to put his money where his mouth was and support Forth in these coming dark days.

We remind Mr. Day that should he get carried away with his own self importance and forget what he was elected to do,then Pilton Sucks will be right behind him,reminding him of  the obligations that he made consistently throughout the campaign. 

In the meantime enjoy the honeymoon it won’t last long.